Arlington, Va.,—April 9, 2012—Shell Oil Company and the National Science Teachers Association today announced the grand prize winner and four national finalists in the second annual Shell Science Lab Challenge. The competition encouraged teachers (grades 6-12) in the U.S. and Canada, who have found innovative ways to deliver quality lab experiences with limited school and laboratory resources, to share their approaches for a chance to win a school science lab makeover valued at $20,000.
“Inquiry-based learning and hands-on experimentation are key elements for encouraging student interest in science,” said Dr. Frazier Wilson, Vice President, Shell Oil Company Foundation, Manager, Social Investment. “The Shell Science Lab Challenge strives to support inquiry-based instructional practices of our science teachers and excite students about the wonders and possibilities of science through active learning that emphasizes questioning, data analysis, and critical thinking. Exemplary science teaching is more relevant when it occurs in a quality lab environment where science concepts can be explored by students.”
“These science teachers have implemented truly remarkable science programs, providing quality lab experiences for their students with very little resources,” said Dr. Francis Eberle, Executive Director, NSTA. “We commend the winners of the Shell Science Lab Challenge for their creativity, resourcefulness and commitment to their students.”
To enter the Shell Science Lab Challenge, science teachers of grades 6-12 in the U.S. and Canada were asked to describe their school’s current laboratory resources, explain why the school’s laboratory facilities might be classified as “limited” resources, and describe their approach to science education instruction utilizing their school’s current lab facilities. A panel of science educators then reviewed and selected the top entries.
Grand Prize Winner: Kristy Martens, Westmount Charter School, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Martens uses a design-based approach to teach science, giving students few procedural instructions. This allows students to explore scientific concepts and gain experience actually building something to help develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. Westmount Charter School’s facilities create some challenges to this approach. The school has only two chemistry labs, which have inadequate ventilation and damaged lab surfaces and share one sink, while the sole physics room contains only two electrical outlets and no high school physics equipment. Martens believes an update of the labs would allow her to provide safe, hands-on science education, as well as expand the curriculum to include the full Advanced Placement science program.
National Finalist: Jennifer Bagardi, Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, Detroit, Mich.
Located in a former Detroit elementary school, the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, a public charter high school, follows a project-based learning curriculum to inspire students to attend college and make a difference in their community. When the academy opened in September 2011, Bargardi had only $600 with which to supply the science department. She employs an “Everyday Science” approach, using familiar, low-cost items such as gelatin and rubbing alcohol to give her ninth grade students hands-on learning opportunities.
National Finalist: Lance Doss, Wagoner High School, Wagoner, Okla.
Doss strives to make science class a hands-on endeavor for his special education students. His students learn science skills relevant to everyday life through classroom activities and lessons, preparing them to be as independent as possible. With no lab of his own, Doss borrows equipments from colleagues teaching general science education when he can. He hopes to create a lab within his special education classroom that allows for more differentiation of lessons to meet the needs of his students whose disabilities span a wide range.
National Finalist: Dr. Manuel Paul Peña, Longfellow High School for Pregnant & Parenting Mothers, Minneapolis, Minn.
Peña uses an inquiry-based approach to science teaching to make a difference in the lives of his students. The alternative high school, founded to help pregnant and parenting female teens succeed academically, is located in a former elementary school built in 1903. Classroom space is tight, so Peña shares a room with two other teachers teaching in different disciplines. He poses questions to students for discussion, drawing on their experiences and sharing his own as they work toward an answer. Hands-on investigations are challenging as the classroom lacks secure storage for equipment such as microscopes. Although the school uses technology to compensate for what the classroom lacks in physical space, Peña says access to better lab facilities will help prepare his students for 21st century science careers.
National Finalist: Denise Ponte and Joseph Mastroeni, Roy W. Brown Middle School, Bergenfield, N.J.
Ponte and Mastroeni share room 237 at Roy W. Brown Middle School, teaching 300 seventh and eighth graders Earth science, physics, and life science. The classroom was last updated in the late 1960s, when new lab tables were installed. Despite the outdated facility, Ponte and Mastroeni work to connect science lessons to their students’ lives using project-based lessons, creating opportunities for students to explore their world and participate in investigations, collecting data and developing critical-thinking skills. They hope that by updating the lab it will allow them to conduct more self-directed investigations and provide more collaborative learning opportunities for their students while including students with disabilities and English language learners.
As the grand prize winner, Martens will receive a science lab makeover support package for their school valued at $20,000. The prize package includes an $8,000 Shell cash grant, $8,000 in donated lab equipment, $1,000 in NSTA prizes—to include an NSTA bookstore gift certificate and NSTA conference registrations, NSTA memberships and NSTA Learning Center subscriptions for two teachers—and an expense-paid trip for two teachers to attend the 2012 NSTA National Conference on Science Education.
The four national finalists will each receive a science lab makeover support package for their school valued at $8,500. The prize package includes a $3,000 Shell cash grant, $3,000 in donated lab equipment, $1,000 in NSTA prizes—to include an NSTA bookstore gift certificate and NSTA conference registrations, NSTA memberships and NSTA Learning Center subscriptions for two teachers—and an expense-paid trip for one teacher to attend the 2012 NSTA National Conference on Science Education.
VWR is also supporting the Shell Science Lab Challenge by providing equipment to the winners.
Recognizing that the laboratory experience is integral to science education and that many schools, especially schools in urban and rural areas, do not have the resources to invest in quality lab equipment, NSTA and Shell partnered on the Shell Science Lab Challenge to bring much needed lab materials and resources to school districts nationwide and in Canada.
For more information about the Challenge, visit http://www.nsta.org/shellsciencelab/.
About NSTA
The Arlington, VA-based National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), www.nsta.org, is the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. NSTA's current membership includes more than 60,000 science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in science education.
About Shell Oil Company
Shell’s commitment to community and social responsibility has been in place for more than 50 years. During this time, we have contributed more than a billion dollars to support community, health and welfare, environmental, arts and cultural activities, various educational initiatives, including minority education, and diversity and inclusiveness programs in Houston and the U.S.
FOR INQUIRIES CONTACT: Shell Oil Company Media Line +1 (713) 241- 4544
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Contact
Kate Falk, NSTA
(703) 312-9211
kfalk@nsta.org